


the start of something beautiful

by izukillme



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Other, Winter, more like kiss(es) lmao, nb natsu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22404025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izukillme/pseuds/izukillme
Summary: A get-together with friends turns into something else entirely when everyone bails on Natsu and Gajeel.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Gajeel Redfox, Natsu Dragneel/Gajeel Redfox
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	the start of something beautiful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ro_blaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ro_blaze/gifts).



> Written for the lovely Monny. Damn, now I'm in this ship and I hate (love) you for it Mons xDDD <3

The first thing that Natsu says to Gajeel when they meet up at the planned spot by the park is, “Feel how cold my hands are.”

Gajeel raises an eyebrow - or, well, a row of studs - but complies, running his hands over Natsu’s smaller ones. Their fingers are stubby, calloused, and yes, _cold_. Colder than they should be, considering how warm Natsu generally is. 

“Why are you so fucking cold? Have you been spending time around the ice princess again?” he grumbles, placing his own hand on top of Natsu’s. Call Gajeel an opportunist, but he sees an opportunity to touch the hands of his crush and he’s going to take it.

“Ugh, no,” Natsu groans, and if Gajeel isn’t imagining it, they actually press their freezing hands further up against his rough palm. “ _Fuck_ , Gaj, your hands are so warm. Make mine warm, please?”

Gajeel makes a low noise of protest in his throat, but inside he’s actually screaming like a little girl. First he gets to touch Natsu’s hands, now they’re asking him to _hold_ those same hands for more than five seconds? He could do a happy dance right about now, but he restrains himself with the immense self-control he’s learned over the years. 

“Where’s the others?” he asks as he rubs Natsu’s hands warm, trying not to think about how perfectly they fit into his. “It’s half an hour past when we planned to meet.”

Natsu hesitates for a second, then they speak. “They couldn’t make it.”

Gajeel frowns. “But none of them have any important stuff to do today.”

Natsu sighs, removing their hands from between his. Gajeel almost whines, but he controls himself once more.

“...I kind of _asked_ them to bail,” they admit, looking at the frost-covered ground. It’s early January, and even though Fiore is warmer than most other countries, the last vestiges of winter remain. “I… wanted this to be just us, you know?”

Gajeel feels heat rush to his cheeks. He looks away and doesn’t respond - there seems to be a lump in his throat, and it won’t let him speak.

Natsu sighs. “I’m sorry. I should have known this was a bad idea. We aren’t even that close anyways, I just-”

It’s then that Gajeel’s throat finally clears, and almost without thinking, he yelps, “No!”

Natsu’s lips part slightly, and they step back, staring directly into Gajeel’s eyes. 

He continues, spurred on by some unknown force, “I… I’m glad to be able to spend some time with you. Get to know you better? It’s… it’s nice that you did this.” Heat rises to his face and he looks away, trying to hide his blush. 

“You really think so?” Natsu asks, and there’s so much hope in their voice that Gajeel can’t resist taking a look at what’s undoubtedly the open, honest, questioning expression of theirs that he so loves. Even more than Natsu’s mile-wide smiles, it’s that soft and ready look that drew him to them. 

“Y - yeah,” Gajeel mutters, staring at the ground. “Yeah, I guess I… I’ve liked you for a while now.”

He chokes immediately on mortification, stunned by the words that have just passed his lips. He hadn’t meant to say them, not to anyone, and least of all to _Natsu themselves._

He looks up, at Natsu’s face, and sees only shock there. Natsu’s eyes are blown wide, pupils dilated, and their jaw is wide open with utter surprise.

Shame and fury at himself washes over Gajeel as he realises just how badly he’s fucked up. He’s fucked up the one chance he had to spend time with a person he likes, the one chance he had to get to know Natsu Dragneel some more. He starts to stammer apologies in a shaky voice, “I - I shouldn’t have-”

But he is silenced when chapped lips press against his, radiating warmth like their owner is wont to do. 

Gajeel stands there like a doll, frozen with astonishment. 

_His crush just kissed him._

Eventually, Natsu pulls away, face slightly pink. “I like you too,” they say quietly, looking directly at Gajeel. They have never been scared of confrontation - another one of the things Gajeel loves about them. “That’s what I wanted to tell you today. But I guess we got to that part all too quickly, huh?”

Gajeel laughs, mouth dry. “Yeah,” he agrees, still riding high on the euphoria of his feelings being returned. “Yeah.”

And, acting on pure instinct, he lifts Natsu up and pulls them into another kiss. Natsu fists their hands in the hair at the nape of Gajeel’s neck, standing on their tip-toes to deepen the kiss, and who is Gajeel to not return that emotion with the same gusto? 

So he kisses back, and kisses back, and kisses back until they finally have to pull apart because people are staring and he hates when they do that. 

“So, we dating?” asks Natsu almost shyly.

“I guess we are,” Gajeel replies, smiling like an idiot.

He isn’t able to wipe the stupid grin off his face for the rest of their outing - _date,_ he keeps reminding himself with giddy joy. For the rest of his _date_ with his new partner.

Ah, Gajeel Redfox may hate life on a regular basis, but right now he has nothing but love for it.


End file.
